On His Own, and Yet With Friends
by Sivvy
Summary: Story adopted from Archsage150, Minsummary-Naruto grows up in pokemon world and starts a pokemon journey sorry for suckish summary, but the story itself is loads better.
1. Chapter 1

Sivvy: This is the story I adopted from Archsage150. This first chapter will be a copy and paste version of all the chapters Archsage150 has done and the story will be continued by me next chapter. Before I begin though I would like to give props to the former author of this story for doing such a great job and while I'm glad to have the chance to continue it, I'm upset to see it have to be transferred. Well, let's get started shall we.

..Begin..

**Chapter 1**

Naruto Uzumaki. 15 years old as of today. He has been studying Pokemon since he was placed in the Pokemon Trainers Academy in the Kanto regions Viridian city, and today is the day he arrives in Pallet town to receive his first Pokemon. The reason he was traveling to Pallet town to receive his Pokemon was because he had been smart enough, which shocked the rest of his classmates, to think ahead and not only apply but send in the proper funding to the renowned Professor Oak to receive one of the Kanto three. Three Pokemon completely native to Kanto, save for the Charizard found in the Charicific Valley in Johto, and very rarely found in any other region.

They were of course common enough finds in Kanto in order to ensure that they wouldn't be targeted by thieves, but they were still rather difficult to find if you didn't know where to go. They were more commonly known as the Kanto starters, but only Professor Oak handed them out to those who either paid enough or he had selected at random in his home town.

Naruto of course just hoped that he would be able to get Charmander. The fire type starter. He knew Charmander were rather difficult to train, and that the final evolution form was notorious for being incredibly powerful and stubborn, but he still wanted one.

As he walked towards the entrance of town, his mind drifted to a recent nightmare. It wasn't all that clear, but he did remember a man screaming 'shiki'-something-or-other. Naruto didn't quite get it. The words were muddled but it was screamed so he did remember it a little, what really stood out though was a giant fox in a cage that had screamed the only clear thing in the dream _**'I will not be sealed into a mortal. Begone from this world my would-be-container.'**_

After that he saw something leave from where his stomach would from his view angle, and then there flashing lights and then a city and a shocked female police officer, that Naruto knew to be his adoptive mother. Her name was Jenny, and she had allowed him to keep the name that was on the basket and blanket he had arrived in.

_'Wonder what the dream meant. I guess it's just one of those strange dreams you get from watching to many movies. Mom told me not to watch so many strange movies.' _Naruto thought to himself, before realizing he had been in town for 5 minutes. "Ah-ha! Alright! I'm here! Charmander here I come."

With that, Naruto took off running to the building that he looked like Oak's lab, careful to avoid puddles of rain from the night before. He didn't want to ruin his new clothes his mother had bought him already afterall.

He was dressed in a dark orange T-shirt, and black zip up sweater hanging open over it. He wore black shoes, and baggy blue jeans. His blonde hair fell neat and straight, thanks to his mother helping him take care of it. It was almost shoulder length and partially covered his eyes, but not enough to hinder his sight. His eyes were a perfect shade of blue to compliment his hair color.

When he got there he had noticed one kid leaving while holding a ball highly in the air as he looked at it happily. The kid looked a little older then him, but was probably the same age. After reaching the top of the stairs he ran head-first into the second kid with a Poke'ball.

"Owie!" a female voice replied as she hit the ground. A small Lizard with a flame for a tail looked at her worriedly. It was the Charmander. The girl had shoulder length hair, which was dark red in color. She wore a tight white T-shirt that revealed a bit of her stomach area, and had a light blue sweater tied around her waist. She also had on a black skirt that reached a little past her mid-thigh, with dark blue shoes.

"NO! Not fair!" Naruto cried as he noticed the lizard.

"Huh? You run into me and all you can do is complain that I picked the Pokemon you wanted?" The girl snapped from her position on the ground. "Not even an 'I'm sorry.' How rude."

"Ah, sorry. But I've been looking forward to getting Charmander all year. I guess I'll have to go with whichever is left." Naruto complained. "Unless..."

"Never. Fire Types are my favorite. And it's my first Pokemon. I'd never trade him!" she said quickly.

"Oh." Naruto sighed. "Alright. Just treat it well then. Whatever is left, here I come." With that Naruto bounded into the Lab leaving a dumbstruck girl in his wake. His quick change in attitude baffled her.

"Professor Oak? I'm here for the last Pokemon." Naruto called out once into the lab.

"Ah, yes. You must be Naruto then right?" Oak shouted from one of the rooms. He exited. "Sorry I was just putting the finishing details onto your Poke'dex. It functions as your I.D as well so don't lose it."

"Thanks. Can I get my Pokemon now?"

"Of course follow me."

As Oak lead him down to one of the rooms Naruto thought over what he should do about catching a Charmander. He decided to leave it up to the fates. If he found one he found one, if not, he wasn't meant to have one. He never really believed in fate but admitted some things were better left up to whatever entities there might be.

"Here you are my boy, the last one is Bulbasaur, and here are your spare 5 Poke'balls to catch other Pokemon with." Oak explained. "If you could excuse me though, I'm studying about an alternately colored Eevee. I intend to find out the differences between the normal Pokemon and the commonly dubbed 'Shiny' Pokemon."

"Sounds cool. If you need help with it just give me a call. I'll be leaving now, though. I want to get started right away." Naruto shouted as he was already running out of the building.

Upon running out of the building he noticed the girl from earlier was talking with some friends and her family. Probably wishing her good luck. He himself had had a party the day before so his goodbyes had been said then.

" Um, 'scuse me. Coming through!" Naruto shouted as he ran to avoid the group

It wasn't to be however. His sudden appearance scared the Charmander of the girl enough to launch an _Ember_ attack in the direction of Naruto who hit the ground.

"Ugh! Ow. What was that for?" Naruto glared at the girl.

"Your the one who scared Charmander, not me!" she retorted.

"Willow, please. Don't start a fight with someone you don't even know." a middle-aged woman stated. Clearly this was her mother.

"Mom! He accused me of attacking him." Willow complained.

"So settle it the trainer way. Battle him." was the response.

"Oh yea. I challenge you to a battle!"

Naruto grinned. "I accept. Bulbasaur, let's see what you can do!"

"Pfft. Charmander, let's show them who's best." Willow said with an air of confidence.

"Well, if you going to battle in my front yard, I'll be the referee. Honestly you children make so much noise these days." Professor Oak had come out to see what the commotion was about. "Begin!"

"Charmander start off strong with a _Scratch_ attack." Willow ordered.

Charmander nodded suddenly serious. A big change from it's former worrying self.

"Bulbasaur, we won't take that. _Growl_ and then follow up with a _Tackle_." Naruto commanded.

Bulbasaur gave no inclination that it had heard the command until Charmander was dangerously close. It suddenly growled dangerously making the Charmander flinch slightly, which would weaken the force behind it's attack. After that, it's hunched back legs straightened and it launched itself into the rushing Charmander. The force of the blow sent Charmander flying backwards leaving Bulbasaur standing perfectly fine.

"Alright!"

"Grr. Charmander use _Ember_. And follow with a _Leer_, and another _Scratch._" Willow ordered. She was angry, but still thought clearly.

The sudden projectile attack caught Naruto and Bulbasaur off guard. "Ah! Quick, guard yourself as best you can and avoid it's eyes." _'Once it's close enough with that _scratch_ attack, I think we can finish this.' _

The fire attack ended and the leer was up but useless, followed by it was the charging Charmander.

"Now Bulbasaur, use _Vine Whip._" Naruto shouted.

Suddenly Vines appeared from under Bulbasaur's bulb and lashed across Charmander. The sudden influx of pain caused Charmander to accidentally unleash another wave of _Ember_.

The result was both Pokemon hitting the ground with a thud.

"Double knockout. No victor." Professor Oak stated. "Now please try to remain quiet. I'd really like to get some research done today."

"Yes, professor." came the dual response. And the old researcher walked off.

"That was a pretty good match." Willow admitted. "I didn't think beginners like us could have such a cool match like that."

"Me neither. But Bulbasaur is pretty powerful. I don't think I'd trade him to you now no matter how many Charmander you offered." Naruto stated happily.

"Hm, how about we travel together? As you know my name is Willow." she had said this lifting her Charmander from the ground and holding onto him.

"Sounds good. It might be boring if there isn't anyone to talk to. And my name is Naruto." Naruto agreed, as he picked up his Bulbasaur.

"I'm not happy about you traveling with a boy, at your age, but I guess I'll have to trust you. But so help me, if you lay one hand on my daughter, without her compliance, I'll kill you myself. Try to get along well though." she had alternated between talking to the two in between sentences.

"Don't worry ma'am. Nothing will happen to her." Naruto said.

"Mom, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"I know. Be careful of Pokemon though. Even though you have your own, Pokemon can still be very dangerous. Be especially aware if you go through Viridian Forest. The Beedrill and Weedle are very poisonous. The Kakuna too, but they remain docile unless provoked."

"Right. Bye mom." Willow said as she and Naruto started their journey.

..Time Skip..

An hour later had the two trainers halfway up the path to Viridian city. Coming to Pallet from Viridian was roughly an hour's walk, but getting back could take half a day at most. This was due to having to walk around most of the low cliffs that could be jumped down from, but were too high to climb up.

"So, are you going after badges as well Willow?" Naruto asked after 15 minutes of silence. They had talked about themselves before that but hadn't mentioned why they had become trainers.

"Not really. It's part of the reason I wanted a traveling partner. I want to travel mostly. Maybe compete in some Gym competitions and contests. But my mom wants me to go all the way in a league competition at least once so I think I'll challenge the gyms as we come across them." she explained. What about yourself?"

"I'm definitely taking on the gym challenges. I want to be the best trainer. To do that, I'm gonna need powerful Pokemon and a good training partner. It's actually a good thing we did partner up. This way we get training in whenever we stop, instead of just when we're challenged." Naruto told her. "In fact I've heard of this great but rather cruel training method. You make one Pokemon on your team stand against the rest and tell it to fight off all them. I've heard the effects are great but the training can be cruel if the one your training is vastly under-leveled."

"Sounds like it. I think we could improve it though, make it less cruel but just as effective."

"Maybe." Naruto was distracted. "Hey look, a waterfall!"

A soft sigh escaped Willow.

"Naruto, let's just hurry."

"Why? Viridian is only half an hour from here on foot." Naruto said.

"Is it? Well, we can take a small break, but let's get down the ledge first."

After they had walked down the only ledge to Viridian, as all the rest went down to Pallet, and found a nice enough open area by the water, they sat down and began to eat some sandwiches they had each packed. Bulbasaur and Charmander joined them. Both Pokemon were male so Naruto's hopes Charmander might be able to lay an egg, once they found a suitable breeding partner for it, that he could keep till it hatched, were shot.

Bulbasaur seemed to be really quiet and avoided talking to Charmander. And only conversed with Naruto, though Naruto had to do a lot of guesswork.

"Well, I guess we should finish the last little bit of the little trip. Don't worry about where you'll stay, I live in Viridian so you can just use the spare bedroom. My mom wont mind. Along with her profession as a cop though, she's also an excellent cook. She would have gone into cooking school, but her family has always produced females as cops so... her dream was shot by her family. She does take her work seriously though." Naruto explained rather quickly.

"Wait your mom is an Officer Jenny?"

"Uh yea?" he wondered where she was going with this.

"You don't look anything like her!" Willow exclaimed.

"Nah, I was adopted." he shrugged.

"Oh."

Willow was unsure what to say to that. Naruto didn't seem to care though.

As soon as everything was picked up and put in their bags, a bird flew down. It was a Pidgey. It started to eat some crumbs left behind by their meal.

Naruto acted quickly.

"Bulbasaur use _Vine Whip_ to bind it. Then slam it into the ground till it's unconscious." It was simple, and effective. It left no room for retaliation.

Once it was unconscious, Naruto captured it. "Your will is mine now Pidgey."

"That wasn't how I expected someones first catch to be. I thought it would be some great confrontation with each side struggling to win." clearly she was depressed.

"Nah I just got it by surprise. It obviously didn't think it would be caught or attacked." Naruto said trying to lighten things up. "Pidgey come on out."

Naruto indicated to his shoulder, telling it to rest there, and asked if it was feeling okay. It sort of nodded and was still clearly bitter about being caught. But it lost and he won. That alone was enough for Pidgey to travel with him. It would get stronger.

"Awesome. Alright, c'mon, we're not to far from home."

The rest of the journey was uneventful save for the storm clouds coming from the sea, beyond Pallet. Not that they would get caught in it.

..Time Skip..

"Well this is my home, this is my mom, and down the hall last door in the right is where you'll sleep, right across is my room, and the first door to the left is the bathroom. The last one is mom's room. The kitchen is through there, likewise the living room through there. The upstairs is a large wreck room, where the computers and other things are. Your welcome to check it out, just don't mess with my guitar."

"You play?"

"Often, but don't ask me to play anything for you, cause I don't play for audiences. And don't think you'll catch me playing tonight, cause the music I play would wake the neighbors as well as everyone here. I'm still not very good though. Never had formal instruction." Naruto told her. They had entered the kitchen and Naruto had grabbed a juice carton with his name written on it, and started drinking straight from it.

"Um, okay."

"So, Willow you said right?" Jenny asked sweetly.

"Yes."

"What are your intentions towards my son?" she asked, beginning an interrogation.

"What? Intentions? We're just traveling together is all."

"So your saying you don't find my son attractive?" she asked seemingly shocked and had an eyebrow raised.

"I didn't say that!"

This banter continued for half an hour before Willow realized she was being teased for fun.

Naruto laughed as he heard Willow cry out in frustration. "Home sweet home. I'm gonna miss you." he tossed a cinnamon roll into his mouth as he munched away happily...Time Skip..

The morning, after both teens had showered, saw them leaving town. They had checked out the Pokemon center before they left as well, and had learned that nothing was wrong with any of their Pokemon.

"Viridian Forest is huge. It will likely take us a few days to get through it, no matter how fast we travel." Naruto told his companion.

"I know. Charmander lead the way. It's looks pretty dark even in the daylight." Willow said as she let the little orange lizard out of the ball.

"Well, with Charmander we're sure to catch a lot of attention, but it's probably for the best so we don't get separated during the silence."

A few minutes of walking had them facing off against quite a few Pokemon. Caterpie, and Weedle mostly, and a few Beedrill here and there. They had also battled a few Pidgey, which were taken care of by Naruto's Pidgey.

Willow had captured one of the Caterpie by accident when one of her Poke'balls fell and it got sucked in. It was already unconscious.

"Phew. This is a lot of work." They themselves had to beat down a few Weedle. They were the most common attackers. The two or three Beedrill that they had faced were recently evolved ones and as such weren't much of a challenge with their wings still wet from from their time in the cocoon.

"You said it." Naruto agreed, as he whacked a Weedle in the head with a stick.

"Hey, you two!" a voice called out.

"Um, yea?" Naruto asked for them.

"I want a battle. I'll take the two of you on if you don't mind?" the man asked.

"Sure. Never had a double battle before, and we should get used to it." Willow responded this time.

"Awesome! Let's go Geodude, Roselia." the man cried.

"Bulbasaur, time to shine." Naruto ordered

Willow was much colder in her command. "Charmander, end this."

"Begin." The three of them said.

"Charmander use _Ember _on Roselia." Willow opened the battle.

"Geodude stop it with _Rock Throw_." the man retaliated.

"Bulbasaur, stop Geodude from harming Charmander with you _Vine Whip." _

The rocks were not only blocked but sent along with the _Ember_ at Roselia.

"Ah Roselia! Use _Ingrain_."

"Bulbasaur use _Vine Whip_ on Geodude."

"Charmander, end Roselia before ingrain takes effect. Use _Ember_."

Roselia's I_ngrain_ prevented it from moving but hadn't enough time to recover it's health. It fainted. Geodude however was still capable of going, and proved it by performing the commanded _Rollout_.

"Bulbasaur use _Leech Seed_, followed by _Vine Whip_ to keep it suspended and away from the ground."

"No! My Geodude." He had recalled Roselia. After Geodude fainted, the man gave them their prize money and left on his way sulking.

"Well, we did pretty well, for first time trainers in our second trainer battle, and our first double battle." Naruto exclaimed.

"Yea. I guess we did. We drew against each other and when teamed up we owned. But I think that guy took it easy on us and used some weaker Pokemon." Willow thought aloud.

"Maybe, but why think negatively. I say, let's think they were his best and we beat them." Naruto cheered.

"But then we'll get over confident." Willow pointed out.

"Better overconfident then no confidence."

"I guess so."

They walked another good while before coming across something not creepy or crawly. A mouse. A yellow one. The Poke'Dex indicated it as a Pikachu.

"Oh! I am so catching that." Willow said slightly cheerful. "Charmander _Ember_."

The attack caught the Pikachu by surprise but it still dodged. It sent a bolt of electricity back at Charmander. It caused temporary paralysis at the same time.

"Oh no! Caterpie go help Charmander. Use _String shot_."

The attack latched onto Charmander and pulled him out of the battle. Caterpie then launched another in an attempt to wrap up the Pikachu. It got it's legs but the _Thunder Shock_ sent back knocked Caterpie right out.

"Damn."

"My turn. Pidgey, avoid the electricity and use _Gust_." Naruto bounced as he said this.

A strong wind knocked the Pikachu into a tree. It's lightning attacks were off due to the dizziness from hitting it's head. It shocked several trees and nearly struck Naruto and Willow.

"Damn. I'll have to catch it before it set the place on fire." He was beaten to the punch by his friend.

"I said I'd catch it."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyways, as long as no fire started. Congratulations." Naruto said grinning.

"But you did the work? Aren't you mad?" Willow asked.

"No. Why would I be?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I don't know."

The next two day saw them coming up to the exit of the forest. They had battled many trainers either running up from behind them or most commonly walking against them. There were even a few hardcore bug enthusiasts hiding within the forest.

Overall there journey was very eventful. And they still had a short ways to go till they got out.

**Chapter 2**

"Hey Willow?" Naruto asked suddenly as they started walking, after camping out for the last time till they got to Pewter city.

"Yea?"

Have you noticed that there haven't been many Pokemon around? I started to notice before we set up camp, but I thought it was just cause they were going to sleep. It didn't happen the night before though so..."

"Yea... That's weird. It's probably nothing though." Willow assured him.

"Maybe."

After walking for a couple of minutes Naruto noticed someone running towards them frantically, as if being chased by something.

"HELP! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!" The man stopped short of them. "Beedrill. Everywhere. They attacked me and two of my friends. They killed one of my friends Pokemon. Who knows what's happened to them by now."

"Shit. We'll have to go that way to get to Pewter." Naruto cursed.

"We should help them though. They might already be dead but we still should try." Willow told him quietly.

"And risk our own deaths?" Naruto asked, looking her in the eye.

"Think of it as training." she answered.

"Fine. But if the situation turns for the worst, I'm grabbing you, and our Pokemon, and running." Naruto answered, giving in.

"Oh thank you both. This way." The man turned around and started running. He had three wounds on his back. He had already been poisoned.

As they ran Naruto asked, "You know you don't have very long yourself. The poison is probably spreading through your body faster cause your running. I give you half an hour tops."

"I know. But my friends are fighting with all they have, they need to survive, even if I don't."

"Now I know why my mom was so worried." Willow whispered. Everyone heard it.

"You didn't think this kind of journey would be all fun and games did you? People die training Pokemon all the time. So do Pokemon. In a situation like this, we should probably avoid it the area at all costs, but at the very least we might be able to wipe out a dangerous part of the forest, and keep the numbers between the Pidgey and Weedle, Kakuna and Beedrill balanced." Naruto proved to show some knowledge.

"Wow. Were you in the Trainer Academy?" Willow asked.

"Yep. Almost failed. I only learned what I felt like learning. I was already eligible for a Pokemon from Oak a year ago so I stopped trying in school. Mum didn't care, she knew I'd be fine when I traveled." Naruto explained before asking the guy ahead, "how much further?"

"Just... up... here..." he stopped talking and collapsed.

Naruto and Willow stopped as well. They heard shouts from where the man pointed them too. They checked his pulse before helping the others.

"Dead. Let's get moving. We might be able to help the other two. If not, your Charmander will shine greatly here. My Pidgey as well. Your Pikachu should also do pretty good, Bulbasaur and your Caterpie might not do so well, so let's hold on using them."

"Okay." Willow agreed.

They sent the two Pokemon not already out, out. Pikachu hopped on Willow's shoulder while Pidgey flew above them as Charmander lead them into the fray. As expected, the other two humans were covered in wounds and each had mostly dead Pokemon as defense. One looked like a wolf pup and the other looked incredibly dopey, despite the desperate situation. A Slowpoke and Poochyena.

"Charmander use _Ember_. Pikachu use _Thunder shock._" Willow cried.

Naruto was next. "Pidgey use a _Wing Attack_ and _Quick Attack_ combo to get in and out as fast as possible."

The Beedrill were surprised, but unlike the ones the group had been fighting before hand, these Beedrill were part of a hive and had been evolved for awhile. Many of them still fell to the combination of so many attacks striking them at once, but the vast majority were still up and capable.

"Quick Pidgey, use _Gust_."

"Charmander, Pikachu, don't let up."

The trainers Pokemon were putting up a good fight but soon the group had been forced into a corner to avoid getting flanked. By this time, any help that should have come from the two they had meant to save, was non-existent. The trainers had died long before their Pokemon did, and their Pokemon died just as soon as Naruto and Willow backed into the same corner as them. It was just Charmander, Pidgey and Pikachu, against a hive of Beedrill.

This lasted less then a minute more. "Onix use _Dragon-breath_." a voice sounded.

Naruto, being the incredibly intelligent young man that he was, had responded to this as any intelligent being would. "Huh?"

"We're saved." Willow cheered.

It was true. The Beedrill took off at the sight of the Onix. The man lead them all onto Onix's head, for a faster ride into the city.

"Sorry it took so long. I only just got word of the situation. I'm the Pewter city Gym Leader. Name's Brock. I'm only here for a short while though. I'm packing up to head out to Hoenn with a friend of mine. I feel pretty bad about not getting here sooner though, so I'll instruct my brother or father to teach one of each of your Pokemon a new move, to help you with getting to Cerulean, if that's where your headed?"

"It is. First we came here to battle the Gym Leader. At least I did anyway." Naruto answered. "But after that we'll be heading to Cerulean City."

"The Gym challenge huh? You got your work cut out for you. Misty, the gym leader of Cerulean is far more experienced then her sisters. And she's the one running the gym now, so you'll have a hard time getting past her. In fact, I don't think anyone has ever since she took over. And don't think I'll be a pushover either." Brock chuckled.

"Oh I know how rare it is for a Gym leader to lose. I'll just think of it as a training experience until I finally beat a Gym leader. Then I'll really start working on winning." Naruto answered.

"What do you mean Naruto? Gym leaders lose all the time. How else do you explain how so many people compete in those League conferences, like the Indigo League or the Silver conference?"

"Actually your friend is right. Gym Leaders rarely lose. Two years and three months ago, give or take a few days, I lost 2 times in a row. The longest losing streak I've ever had. My first loss, was to Professor Oak's grandson and then to another person, whom I don't remember the name of. The next person who beat me had to fight me twice. Though he beat me unconventionally he still won. All three were from Pallet town. And the third one is my best friend, who I'm heading out to meet in a few days." Brock answered. He paused here to catch his breath. "And to answer the question of why so many people are able to compete, it's because most people pay for their chance to participate. The league accepts this, otherwise they'd have no source of income. The people who pay don't usually make it into the final rounds however. Only those who fought for the gym badges. Anyways you can register to participate in the Pokemon center when Onix arrives there. Get your Pokemon healed first of course. We're almost there anyways."

It was true. They had been in town for a short while now, and the Pokemon center was closing in fast. "Thanks for the lift Brock."

"No prob. Swing by the gym tomorrow for the battle. Right now I have to inform the Police station of those in the forest."

After Brock had taken off, the two trainers rushed into the Pokemon center and Nurse Joy recognized the signs immediately, not giving them a chance to speak, she picked all thee Pokemon up, and placed them on one stretcher while Chancey worked on keeping them healthy with her _Soft-boiled_ technique.

"Bulbasaur." Naruto muttered as he opened the ball. The seed Pokemon looked at it's trainer worriedly. "Pidgey is in a bad way right now. He's been severely poisoned. He should be alright but still..." He felt kind of stupid now he thought about it. Bulbasaur was part poison type and as such would have been able to fight without getting poisoned, only sustaining damage. He would have lasted longer due to that little detail. It was to late to dwell on stuff like that now though. It was in the past, and they weren't.

Bulbasaur knew what his trainer meant and tried to comfort him. He wasn't sure what to say but apparently just being there was all that was needed.

"Cheer up. Our Pokemon will be fine. Or Brock might have been more serious." Willow told him, sounding sure of herself.

"Brock was distracting us with that talk. He made sure we weren't thinking about it till we got here. Not because he knew they'd be fine, but because we couldn't panic or we wouldn't be any help to our Pokemon." Naruto didn't mean to make her worry, but it was better then having her disappointed.

"How is it you can be so insightful at times, and so, uh..." Willow trailed off.

"Dumb other times?" Naruto finished.

"Uh well, yea."

"No idea."

The rest of the time was spent in silence. Caterpie and Bulbasaur, the only healthy Pokemon they had left, were playing a little game of tag. Caterpie was winning through use of her _String Shot_. Bulbasaur hadn't noticed that Caterpie would stick string to his bulb every time she got tagged. Though in his defense, his mind was on the other member of his team. They may not have known each other long, but neither had he and Naruto, and yet they were pretty close already, as such Bulbasaur was worried about his feathered friend.

Suddenly, about an hour after their Pokemon had been admitted into the center, a young trainer, one who Naruto recognized as the other trainer from Pallet, had come in rather angry.

"How is anyone supposed to win against such Pokemon." the trainer angrily stated as he marched to the front desk. "Hey, isn't there supposed to be a nurse here?"

"She's in the emergency room." Willow stated. The boy started towards the room. "Don't bother her, Andrew. Your so rude sometimes."

"You know this loud idiot?" Naruto stated.

"I wish I didn't."

"No one asked you." the newly named Andrew shouted.

"I just did. Now please sit down, and be quiet."

"I don't have to listen to you!"

A ding sound halted him. "Naruto, Willow, your Pokemon are all cured from the poison. They're ready for battle at any time, but try to take it easy form now on? You don't want them to get hurt."

"Awesome. We'll train for the gym match now." Naruto grinned.

"You'll only lose." Andrew stated as he placed two Poke'balls on the counter to get healed.

"If I do, I'll just try again when I get stronger."

"Yea, but you don't stand a chance at beating me, and I lost. That means you don't have a chance." the boy said arrogantly.

"Andrew, shut up. You got lucky getting Squirtle. Professor Oak would never have given you a Pokemon if there had been any one else in town, old enough to get a trainers license." Willow said, defending her friend.

Andrew looked quite hurt from that revelation. It was unfortunately true, Andrew had proven his incompetence with Pokemon countless times, though Naruto wouldn't have known this. Naruto walked up to Willow and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Willow... that was pretty mean. It's not like I care what he says. I'll prove him wrong when I win." Naruto said. "I mean sure he's being a bit arrogant, but he'll learn to be better with time."

Sighing, Willow turned around after a soft apology. She left the building and stood outside to wait for Naruto. Andrew was shaking. Unsure whether he was crying, or angry Naruto said one thing before he followed Willow. "I'll can't wait to fight you at the Indigo league, so make sure you make it there."

His words awoke something in Andrew. The boy turned around and picked up the Poke'balls Nurse Joy had just checked over. He summoned both his Pokemon, Squirtle, and a Mankey. "Storm, Lee... we're going to train until we drop. All three of us."

That was what Naruto heard just before the door closed behind him. Grinning he ran to Willow, grabbed her hand and lead her a little ways towards Mt. Moon so they could train. Naruto would register for the league the next morning, before he went to challenge Brock.

"Alright Willow, let's see what you've got." Naruto called as the two friends stood a distance apart. Pidgey was on Naruto's shoulder prepared to fight.

"I'm not gonna hold back. That battle in the forest has strengthened us a lot. You as well, but we got more out of it." Willow shouted back.

They smirked at each other. Pidgey prepared for lift off. And Willow's Pikachu got ready to jump.

"Begin!" the two friends shouted.

..Time Skip..

It was four hours after dark that the two trainers got back. All their Pokemon were exhausted. They had all trained immensely. Surprisingly Naruto noticed that he himself had gotten stronger as he helped Bulbasaur's aim with his vines. Naruto felt himself getting stronger but figured it was adrenaline. Still he had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that that wasn't quite right. He had definitely enjoyed the rush. Somehow it reminded him of the psychic's of Saffron city. One psychic had told the public that he got stronger the more he practiced, and that mock fighting with his Pokemon helped increase his power significantly, and that it was true for all Psychic's. Similar reports came from a one or two fighters at the dojo, in the same city, but they could just be braggarts trying to win attention from the public, or unknown psychic's.

Naruto shrugged it off and continued to eat the meal Nurse Joy had left for them. They had asked her to leave something they could reheat, in their room.

"Hey, Naruto?" Willow asked. She had seen Naruto not only enjoy, but outright improve, alongside his Pokemon today. She wasn't sure if she was imagining things but she ha to ask.

"What's up?"

"How were you able to dodge those vines so long? And get faster as the vines picked up speed? I'm just curious is all." Willow questioned.

"No idea. Maybe I'm like the psychic's in Saffron." Naruto said shrugging. Inside he thought it was very much likely. _'It'd explain this, and how I appeared in front of mom that day she found me. October tenth... my birthday and the day mom says her life had been completed.'_

"Hm... We need to catch you a psychic Pokemon then. If it's true the Pokemon would be able to tell you for sure, since psychic's are said to be able to sense psychic energy." Willow decided, before going to the top bunk. She had changed for bed when she got in the room while Naruto went straight for the showers. Unlike her he had participated in the training after all.

_'Hm... she's right... wonder where or when I'll find a psychic Pokemon?'_ with those remaining thoughts, Naruto himself changed for bed before getting in the bottom bunk. Sleep took him quickly.

..Time Skip..

"This will be a 1on 1 match, 2 Pokemon each. The challenger is allowed Substitutions, The gym leader is not. Are these rules acceptable?" A man named Flint shouted. Both Naruto and Brock nodded. "Then... BEGIN!"

"I'll try not to humiliate you to bad. Geodude, I choose you!" A rock ball with two arms appeared. It was standing on it's arms for a better view. It looked powerful.

"Geodude, huh? Well, I've only got two choices so I might as well save my best choice for last. Pidgey, let's fly." Naruto shouted as he tossed the ball in the air. Pidgey burst free and stayed in the air to avoid getting too close to the rock Pokemon.

"Geodude Vs. Pidgey begin."

"Pidgey huh? Bad choice. _Rock Throw_." Brock called out. Geodude gave one sign of acknowledgment. He started throwing rocks. Each one was roughly twice his body size, yet Geodude didn't even look like he was putting any effort into it.

"Pidgey! Dodge and use _Gust_!" Pidgey flew between the rocks getting higher into the air, out of reach, before turning around and flapping his wings hard, sending a blast of wind at the... unflinching Pokemon.

"Geodude, launch yourself at it. Bring a few rocks with you." Brock ordered. Geodude did so quickly. Making sure to bring some smaller rocks for fast throwing and more precise hits. "Now _Rock Throw_, once more."

The attack hit this time. Pidgey fell to the floor in a heap. "Pidgey? C'mon buddy get up. You can do it." Naruto's words of encouragement were being heard but Brock was relentless.

"Magnitude while it's on the ground."

The attack shook the very foundations of the gym, and Pidgey looked beat.

"Pidgey is unable to..." Flint was cut short by an angry squawk.

"Pidgey?" Naruto didn't know what was happening. He knew Pidgey was fairly strong, but not strong enough to survive a ground attack, when he was forced onto the ground. It was the normal type in him being weak to the ground attacks.

Pidgey squawked a few more times, before taking to the air. He looked practically dead flying there. But refused to back down. "Pidgey... If you want to then we'll keep going. Don't get killed out there though. We almost lost you once, we don't need a repeat of that."

Suddenly, before Brock or Naruto could give any orders to either of their Pokemon. Pidgey started glowing. Evolution. Naruto had seen it the night before with Willow's Caterpie. The little worm had evolved into a Metapod, and would soon, with a little time, evolve into a Butterfree.

"Pidgeotto!" the newly evolved bird shouted, his new red crown shaking as he shouted his name. All his injuries had been healed, and his exhaustion gone. Geodude wasn't so lucky. The magnitude had been done from a long drop. Geodude, was winded.

"Awesome..." Naruto breathed, distracted. The distraction was what Brock needed. He knew Geodude would lose against a newly evolved Pokemon, especially since any damage done had been healed during the evolution.

"Geodude latch on and use _Self-Destruct_!"

Naruto broke form his distraction. "Get out of there!"

It was to late. Geodude moved to quickly. The explosion from the attack obscured the view for quite awhile. When the dust had settled Geodude was clearly knocked out as was Pidgeotto.

"Double Knockout. Both trainers select your next Pokemon."

"My next Pokemon is a lot stronger then the last." Brock told him as he recalled Geodude. "Thanks. I appreciate this my friend. Onix, let's rock n' roll." _'That was lame. Why did I say something so embarrassing?'_

A large long rock snake appeared. "No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "I have to fight that?" He quickly recalled his downed Pokemon and sent Bulbasaur out right next to him. "Bulbasaur, that Onix there... that's what your up against. Think you can do it?"

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur actually looked offended.

"Right. Shouldn't have doubted you. Let's get him then."

"Second match. Onix Vs. Bulbasaur. Begin!" Flint called out again.

"Start this off with Leech Seed." Naruto commanded.

Bulbasaur quickly shot a seed that, when it hit Onix, burst and started wrapping around Onix's body and began siphoning it's energy to Bulbasaur.

"Onix, ignore it for now, use _Body Slam_!"

Onix moved quickly for a large snake made of rocks. It rushed towards Bulbasaur and immediately threw it's body at him. Bulbasaur didn't need the order that Naruto sent him to know he had to get out of the way. Running to the left, he barely made it out of the way of the probably incredibly heavy Pokemon.

"Bulbasaur, _Vine Whip_!"

Bulbasaur lashed at the snake with his vines. Onix roared in pain as it was whipped, and roared even further as his health was drained even further from the life sapping vines that had grown from the _Leech Seed_ attack.

"Onix, _Tackle_ it. Follow up with _Bind_ after that." Brock commanded, as he grinned slightly. The kid he was facing knew what he was doing. And if the records were true, he had been the worst student in the Viridian Academy. Shows what testing proved, didn't it? Brock had fought the supposed best of the best from those Academies, and only one had ever beat him, the rest were easily defeated. Still, that didn't mean he was going to lose this match just cause the kid was impressive. He had no intention of losing, though he wouldn't feel bad if he did. The kid was good.

"Bulbasaur get out of the way!" Naruto shouted as Onix lunged towards him. Bulbasaur however wasn't quick enough this time. Receiving a full on _Tackle _from a 20 foot, or larger, snake made of rock would do massive damage to anything, so it came as quite shock when Onix hadn't managed to even push the smaller Pokemon back.

Both trainers, realized why as vines were grabbing on to Onix's head after having wrapped around a rock behind it, to keep from letting it hit Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur's eyes were shut, but looked relieved none-the-less. Onix shook slightly as pain wracked it's body from the _Leech Seed. _Bulbasaur utilized the chance to unleash something he had just learned. A flurry of razor sharp leaves assaulted Onix's face. The attack was appropriately called _Razor Leaf_.

"All right Bulbasaur!" Naruto cheered. Onix roared again, and attempted another _Tackle_. This one wasn't expected, and Bulbasaur rolled along the dirt after getting struck., stopping just in front of Naruto. "Bulbasaur? Are you alright? Can you continue?"

"Bul... saur." Bulbasaur responded. It sounded like a confirmation, so Naruto nodded.

"Right then try a _Razor Leaf_ once more and follow up with a _Vine Whip_."

Bulbasaur did so, unleashing another wave of leaves at his target. The vines circled around the attack quickly to lash at Onix and keep him in place to have both attacks hit.

"No! Onix, quick used Dig." Brock shouted, sounding desperate.

It was to late. The vines were annoying Onix to much to let him just go underground. Suddenly, the vines stopped as the were cut off. The leaves had reached Onix and took the vines out as they tore into Onix. Onix was barely conscious after the onslaught, and before another command could be given, _Leech Seed_ finished the job.

"Onix is unable to battle. Bulbasaur is the winner." Flint called from the sidelines. "Naruto, me and Forrest will be waiting at that training spot Brock told you about. We'll teach you and your friend's Pokemon those attacks Brock promised."

Naruto nodded in thanks as Flint left the room.

Brock walked up to Naruto with a little badge in his hands. "Congratulations Naruto. You've earned this. The Boulder badge. A word of advice though; Misty is no pushover. You won't beat her as easily as you've beaten me. It would probably be best if you waited to fight her last or second last. She's probably the strongest, or second strongest Gym Leader in Kanto. You could try to beat her as practice, but I doubt you'll win. Not yet anyways. Also, where is your friend? I thought she'd come and see you match."

"Yea... I tried to wake her to see if she'd come see my match, but she kind of punched me in the face for waking her, before going back to sleep. Apparently she misses the comfort of a real bed. Can't say I blame her though. I didn't want to get up this morning either, but a shower was far to appealing to ignore." Naruto explained.

"Yea. I know how you feel. When I was traveling, that's what I looked forward to every time we came across the Pokemon Center. That and of course Nurse Joy."

"Heh, I hear ya. I should get going to give Willow the good news though. Then we'll head out for Mt. Moon tomorrow morning. The battle was great though, we should do it again sometime. Later!" Naruto said, rushing out the door.

"That kid is gonna go far." Brock whispered as he turned around. He still had a few things to pack before he left to find Ash in Hoenn.

..Time Skip..

"Willow! Great news, I won the Boulder badge, AND Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto!" Naruto cheered as he walked up to his friend who was eating breakfast alone at a table. She turned to him looking quite angry. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You took off to fight you gym match without me! I wanted to watch you know." Willow said. She looked angry but she sounded depressed.

"Ah, you punched me in the face when I tried to wake you though." Naruto pointed out.

"Oh. Did I? I'm so sorry. But I really did want to watch your match." Now she looked embarrassed. "Damn. When we leave tomorrow I want to battle a few trainers."

Naruto sighed. Every time she battled she sounded so cold. Like she was a machine or something. It worked for her though, so he didn't speak up, but he was a bit worried as to why she was like that. Maybe she'd tell him on her own some day.

"Well, let's get some training done today, and then we'll leave bright an early tomorrow morning. Mt. Moon is pretty big, and we plan to go through it. We have enough food packed to get through right? Fire wood? Water?"

"Yes, Naruto. Don't worry, we have everything." Willow answered as she finished her breakfast.

"Good, then we'll train for a few hours before getting some sleep." Naruto said as he lead her to the front counter so he could get his Pokemon back.

The two then left for the previous nights training ground where Flint and Brock's little brother would be waiting to teach their Pokemon a new technique, as promised by Brock the other day. In only twenty four hours they'd be traveling again. Naruto could hardly wait.

Naruto and Willow had been traveling for the last two days. They still had yet to reach Mt. Moon, which was roughly a three day walk through, and week to go around. A lot of trainers went around, assuming it less dangerous, when in fact that was not true. Going around Mt. Moon was actually more dangerous. They were currently building a train system to go past it and avoid danger entirely but that was work in progress. Going through Mt. Moon was less dangerous mostly because the cave systems were stabilized and it was rare for powerful Pokemon to attack in such close quarters. At least the powerful ones around Mt. Moon anyways.

But that's getting ahead. Naruto and Willow had yet to reach the Inn at the base of the mountain yet. Each had one Pokemon out in preparation of attack. As with the Viridian Forest there were danger everywhere else in the world as well. While not overly severe to the point where if you didn't have a Pokemon you would die. There were some places like that, but they were far and few in between. Mt. Moon and Viridian Forest being two of those areas. Rock Tunnel was another, but no one used it anymore. There was no point. No only was the place hazardous, but it was also sealed off. Cerulean cave was yet another of these places, however the difference being, even if you had Pokemon you had to have a note of confirmation from the Elite four to even challenge the guard who stood at the entrance. And then you had to beat him completely with out taking any damage and only using one Pokemon against his six. The one Pokemon had to be the weakest in your party to boot. Only Elite four Lance had managed it, though it was said his cousin in Johto had come close once before.

As Naruto and Willow walked Naruto began thinking back to the techniques his Pokemon had been taught. Bulbasaur had been taught how to use the strongest _Tackle_ based attack, _Double-Edge._ Pidgeotto had been taught a new move recently discovered in flying Pokemon, _Aerial Ace_. Both were great moves, though Bulbasaur had to worry about recoil damage, he could severely injure an opponent. Pidgeotto wouldn't ever miss with his attack, unless the opponent took to the underground, or underwater.

Willow's Pokemon had learned some fairly decent moves. Charmander had been taught _Dragon Claw_. It was a dragon attack which ripped into it's opponent with lengthened draconic claws. It was very powerful attack for such a small Pokemon, though not unheard of. Her Metapod was given an item instead since it couldn't learn any moves at it's current state. Silver Powder, tied into a small bag that was tied around Metapod. It ensure that it's only damaging bug move _Bug Buzz,_ dealt more damage then it should have. Pikachu was taught the newest and most powerful of physical electric attacks known to poke-kind. Or so man-kind thought anyway. _Volt Tackle_. Self damaging as most _Tackle_ based moves are, but incredibly powerful. Pikachu could hardly use it without knocking itself out.

Flint had told them a nice tip. A tip that only the best of trainers were supposed to know, but had been told to them because they were being taught these moves by such a trainer, though Brock and Forrest had griped about their father not telling them this. Self-damaging moves could eventually do no damage to the user with training in that move. As such, both Pikachu and Bulbasaur could be seen knocking each other out ever since they learned the moves. Their own ideas to get rid of such a weakness. Naruto had learned the hard way that he shouldn't interrupt them. Of course, the two only did this after eating till before sleeping time. So as not to slow down travel plans.

"Say Willow?" Naruto suddenly spoke up. They had both been mostly quiet the last two days.

She looked at him in question. "What?"

"Well, it's just I can see the Inn at the base of the mountain ahead, and there's some people there. Just wondering if you up for some tag battling." He answered shrugging his shoulders. They had both encountered a couple of people on the way to Mt. Moon. Most looking for one on one battles, so they had little in the way of experience in those kinds of battles.

"Sure thing."

In less then three hours the two had arrived and beaten all the trainers there. There was only around 8 or so, but that was still quite a feat, though none of them had beaten a Gym leader either so it was to be expected they would lose. The battles had proved fruitful for both of them, as one person had actually given one of his Pokemon to Naruto. A Magikarp. The poor little thing looked totally depressed after that little event. Magikarp were known to be next to useless in battle, but Naruto didn't care, he'd make sure it was taken care of. It knew _Tackle_ according to the trainer, but outside of water, it couldn't use it. Naruto wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it strong but he'd try, that's for sure.

Willow's Metapod had evolved though. The bag of Silver Powder tied securely around it's neck. It had become far more powerful then expected through evolution, wiping out both opposing Pokemon alone.

"Well, today was certainly eventful. Let's get a room at the Inn. And then I'll see how strong this Magikarp really is with the Poke'dex." Naruto suggested. As usual, Willow agreed. In battle she was cold and hard pressed to budge on her choices, but outside of it she agreed with just about everything offering little resistance unless she was worried or determined. And when she was determined she refused to budge on any matter. It was beginning to confuse Naruto how different she could be with just the simplicity of a challenge placed in front of her.

With the room rented, unfortunately the last one so they were forced to not only stay in the room together, not so bad, but sleep together as well, very bad, in Willow's eyes and Naruto's due to fear if her mother found out. This was solved by having their Pokemon, after being healed, sleeping between them. Not much room but it was better then someone being uncomfortable on the floor. Or so Willow said.

It had turned out that Magikarp knew a move called _Bounce_, and another move called_ Flail_. Two damaging moves, one better the more injured Magikarp was, and the other a fairly strong attack that could cause temporary Paralysis. Naruto was looking forward to dealing with things with his new Pokemon. Though he wasn't going to make it evolve into a Gyarados. He wasn't sure Magikarp would be the same if that happened. Or listen to him. If it evolved he'd deal with the situation then, if not, better for him as he wasn't sure he was experienced enough for a Gyarados just yet.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

The next morning was mostly uneventful. After a massive breakfast of bacon, eggs, bacon, waffles, bacon, toast and bacon. Naruto was ready. After grabbing a paper plate full of bacon to eat on the way, anyways. He'd have gone for Ramen but they didn't serve Ramen. At least not for breakfast. It was blasphemy in his eyes, but he held his tongue. After finally getting away from home, he thought he'd get to eat all the Ramen he'd want, but it turned out he often had to settle for the slightly less flattering, although sometimes better tasting, bacon.

Willow was still baffled as to how the human stomach on an average sized human being could hold so much food. He'd had a pound of bacon to start, then 4 eggs, another pound of bacon, and 5 waffles, yet another pound of bacon, with toast, and finished with a half pound of bacon. And then proceeded to buy 3 pounds of bacon for the road. All of it was covered in syrup to boot.

All he had said when she asked, was that he needed a snack for the road. A snack that just so happened to be more then enough for full house of a family of 5 for breakfast. His own breakfast would have covered a few families.

The duo had battled a few trainers in the mountain caves on their way through. Neither had much trouble. Magikarp proved capable enough. Clearly the trainer who had given it to Naruto, was an idiot or thought that simply because of it's species, it was weak, without even trying to use it.

_'His loss my gain, I guess. Or was it something different? Stupid weird sayings. Always confusing me.'_ Naruto thought after their last battle.

Naruto sincerely hoped Magikarp didn't evolve in the tunnels. It would collapse them just with it's size. The bounce attack proved most affective against the wild Zubat. Often flattening them on the ceiling. If not outright killing them. The damn things had been biting them every chance they got. After getting to the first checkpoint they stopped to get some rest. It was only mid-day after all. The checkpoints were open areas outside the mountain, but surrounded by it as well.

Team Rocket had apparently tried something here a few years ago, and left these areas intact in case they needed them again. Unfortunately they were discovered and now used as safe passage through the mountain. It had originally been what allowed Team Rocket to get so large. People thought they were in it for the good of humanity at first. Until certain criminal operations were found being run by them. People felt betrayed. Naruto's mom had ended up arresting her boyfriend, who worked for Team Rocket. It had put both of them in a depressive state for a month or two.

The checkpoint had two or three other trainers resting a bit as well. Two were traveling together and were a good deal older then Naruto and Willow. They looked to be in the mid-twenties.

The other trainer had long blood red hair, and was wearing gray pants and a black long-sleeved shirt. The strange thing was that he was watching the two older trainers warily.

"Hey!" Naruto called out as he walked towards the red haired boy. He didn't look to be much older then himself. "What's you name? Mines Naruto. Wanna battle?"

"... No. I'd destroy you, and I don't have time for a battle." the boy answered.

"Yea right. No way you would win against me." Naruto boasted. "Your probably just scared."

The boy's eye started to twitch. "... Fine. You want a battle? Then let's battle. 3 on 3 sound good?"

"Perfect." Naruto shouted as he jumped backwards clearing a few meters without noticing, putting just enough space between them for the battle. The red haired trainers eyes widened before he sent out his Pokemon.

"Feraligatr, humiliate them."

"Whoa! I'll still win. Bulbasaur, your up." Naruto cried as he threw the ball.

Willow was standing a little to his left. "Naruto, be careful, he's obviously powerful. Your Pokemon could get seriously hurt."

"We'll be fine, Willow." Naruto reassured her. "Bulbasaur _Razor Leaf." _

Bulbasaur immediately launched a flurry of leaves.

Feraligatr without even waiting for an order, dodged jumping over the leaves, it's mouth glowing an icy blue. The reason? It had used _Ice Fang. _Bulbasaur was hit and counted out immediately. Naruto recalled him in shock.

"Look, this is how good my Pokemon are without me telling them what to do. Do you really want to put your other Pokemon up against this monster? Especially if somehow your Pokemon can pose a threat to him, I just have to start controlling his actions and he'll be even more formidable?" the red haired boy questioned him. "Be glad we fought now. If it had been a few months ago, I'd have likely just simply ended your Pokemon and left you here broken."

"I get it. I can't beat you. Not yet anyway." Naruto said quietly

"You probably never will." the boy mocked. "Face it. Only a few trainers are ever worth anything. If you can get every badge in this region, and compete in it's league I might believe you have what it takes to even give me a challenge. By the way, my name is Silver."

"I will. I'll get every badge, and I'll win that league. After that I'll challenge you again. If I still lose I'll beat another regions league and try again." Naruto exclaimed, eyes filled with determination.

"Well then, in the meantime, I have two people I have to prepare to beat. Both of which can destroy me without even trying." The boy was about to walk off, when the other two trainers attacked. Both sent out Houndoom and a Grimer. Silver had dropped two balls from his sleeves and watched as a Sneasel and Magneton tore the opposing Pokemon apart. Literally. Sneasel immediately vanished after cutting both the Houndoom into a few mangled pieces, and appeared on the back of one of the trainers with it's claw ready to cut his throat. The other guy was hit on the head by a rapidly ascending and descending Magneton, effectively knocking him out. The Grimer were nothing but charred waste due to the electrical power of the Magneton.

"Sneasel just incapacitate him.." Naruto and Willow watched on in shock as the slightly older teen they had met had his Feraligatr carry two unconscious men.

"What just happened?" Willow looked sick at the sight of the Pokemon.

"I don't know, but I'm not staying here with those Pokemon bodies. Just run towards the second checkpoint. If we stay it'll look suspicious. If we leave we can get some one to check it out, saying we heard screaming or something back here and were to scared to check it out ourselves."

"Being the son of a cop has advantages. You know how to avoid trouble." Willow commented as she held her stomach, looking for all the world like she was about to lose her lunch.

"Huh? No, just it'll waste time if we have to go through all the legal stuff. Time I'd rather spend doing what I want, rather then helping bring a teen, who was defending himself to the extreme, to justice." Naruto answered. "Strangely enough though I feel as though this kind of thing is normal. Really creepy."

"Yea." Willow answered, not really paying attention.

They made it to the second checkpoint by mid afternoon, with Naruto guiding Willow most of the way. It was there they set up camp with a few of the other trainers, that had stopped to rest there for the night. The final trek, from Cerulean side to mid point, would take them a little longer then today's trek had, and then they still had a whole route to travel through on top of that.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

"So this is route 4 huh?" Naruto commented as he looked at the fields. In the far distance buildings could be seen. "Well, beats getting bitten by bats every now and then while you walk. Certainly better scenery too."

"Yea, and we wont be tripping over any Geodude, or getting scratched by anymore Paras." Willow added nodding her head a bit.

The duo, had made it out of the Mountain by nightfall the previous night and had passed out upon resting there heads upon the pillows they had packed for themselves when they started. Neither had even managed to get into their sleeping bags.

Route 4 was no where nearly as long as the two thought it would be. They had easily reached Cerulean before nightfall, and with the whole afternoon to spare.

"Hey Naruto? Think we could check out the towns library? I wanted to study up a bit on psychic Pokemon. You know, because of what we talked about the other day." Willow told him.

"Well, I was kinda hoping to check out around town, maybe get some battling in. You know, prepare to battle Misty and all that."

"Your still gonna challenge her? Even though Brock and Flint warned us about how scary strong she is. What with being one of the top three strongest gym leaders in Kanto."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Of course. If I can't win, then I'll try again later on after I've improved enough to actually be a challenge."

With that the two parted for the rest of the afternoon, with Naruto promising to meet her at the Library before supper time.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW"

Willow, walked quickly as she headed to the library. She was really interested in Psychic abilities. It was strange and new to her. After she found a book that detailed everything about Psychic Pokemon, she came to the conclusion, that only Psychic trainers could properly train Psychic Pokemon. At least to the best of their abilities. Because the human's psychic abilities allowed them to communicate with Pokemon, their bonds were on a higher level then most trainers, and the orders sent psychically allowed for unexpected attacks and made things MUCH more difficult for their opponents. Without hearing the enemies orders, the trainer couldn't prepare properly, and unlike in a wild battle, these Pokemon were still receiving orders to properly counter attacks.

The frightening thing though, was how a Psychic trainer got stronger in EVERY way when they trained their abilities against their Pokemon. Physically their abilities increased, and their mental abilities increased as well. This made them more formidable, and made them even more dangerous cause if you were somehow immune to the psychic attacks, like dark Pokemon, their physical abilities were increased enough to still make them a challenge. Truly Psychics were dangerous. Interesting and fascination, but dangerous as well.

After she had finished pondering and reading what she could she went outside to see Naruto waiting there for her.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Naruto walked off to the park where he noticed there was people battling. He hoped Willow could find something, but he always felt out of place in a library, which was his main reason, unspoken though it was, as to why he came to battle instead.

As he ordered a _Wing Attack_ to finish his opponent, Naruto noticed he had one a third battle in less then an hour. Hell, it was less then half an hour.

"Gotta stop getting sidetracked." Naruto told himself as he punched himself in the face for being distracted.

"Hey, just because your beating these weaklings doesn't mean your anything special" some large round kid had come over to him.

"Huh? To be honest I wasn't really paying attention to who I was battling. I wasn't even paying much attention to the battles really. Sorry about that. You wanna battle. My Magikarp could do with some training too you know. So could Bulbasaur."

"You think a Magikarp could do anything? What are you some water lover like the Gym leader? A female gym leader is a joke. She probably only wins cause she flashes her opponents. Her sisters too." the idiot was insulting the town's leader and sisters so carelessly. Even more stupid, he was spitting while he talked.

"Wow... were you born stupid? Or do you actually try to be this stupid? Does it take a lot of effort? Either way if you don't stop spitting, your gonna be in the hospital. It's disgusting." Naruto told him. "And to answer your first question, my Magikarp could beat you."

"Your gonna pay for insulting me. I'll destroy your Magikarp. Go Machop!" The boy shouted as a small child looking Pokemon appeared.

"Magikarp take a dip." Naruto joked, as he thew the ball towards the pond. "Start with _Bounce._"

"Karate Chop!" the boy screamed.

The small super power Pokemon rushed to the pond, right into an awaiting, hard sounding, wet slap from a tail fin. The resulting slap sent Machop across the ground.

"GET UP! And then use low kick."

"Nut shots huh? Thank god your a fish, huh Magikarp?" Naruto once again joked. The previously upset crowd, who were upset at the idiot currently getting beaten, was now laughing, at how easily he was being beaten, by a Magikarp of all things. "Tackle."

Machop's low kick splashed some water, but otherwise, did nothing, except make the resulting Magikarp slamming into his head, feel twice as strong as it really was.

"What that Magikarp couldn't have moved that fast!"

"No, he didn't move at all till Machop splashed the water. Magikarp was to far under the water for Machop to hit it. It's not my fault if you ordered an attack that can't reach. It's like sending a fighting Pokemon against a flying in this current situation. If you can't hit it very well, or at all, you won't do much damage. Now Magikarp finish with one more Tackle."

Machop was felled a moment later, as Magikarp swam it's fastest in order to do as much damage as possible. As Machop had yet to move from it's sitting position it was knocked out.

"Thanks for the battle. Magikarp you enjoy your swim, I'll watch you while I battle some other trainers. Ok?"

Magikarp seemed to understand. As it swam with other water Pokemon in the pond. The rude trainer left immediately his Pokemon being dragged along by it's arm, before it was recalled.

"That was a good battle." a girl's voice spoke from behind him while he was watching Magikarp. Turning around he noticed a pink haired girl in a yellow dress. "I'm Lily. I'm one of the four Gym Leaders here, but it's my youngest sister that does the battling. Thanks for beating him by the way. I'd have done it myself, but my sister Violet, over heard someone like that, insulting female trainers as a whole, and he refused to battle a 'female weakling'. Sexist pig. Anyways, I only saw this battle, do you have any other water Pokemon, or were you just hoping for a Gyarados?"

"Um, well, no I don't have any other water Pokemon. I do hope one day I might have a Gyarados, but that's not why I'm raising Magikarp. I'm raising Magikarp because it was pretty much abandoned. The trainer just handed him to me saying he had been planning on ditching it soon, but couldn't find any nearby water. The names Naruto by the way, and I'm actually here to challenge you and your sisters. To a gym battle."

"Wow, quite a story for your Magikarp. How many badges do you have? Misty has taken to refusing challengers unless they have at least 5 badges now. It's only been a two weeks, but she's fed up with her weakest Pokemon, well of the ones she will battle with, taking everything out in one or two hits." Lily explained. "she's had 48 challengers since she started battling, and has won every time."

"Oh. I guess I wont be challenging her then. I need four more badges then. I just started and I've only beaten Brock. So I've just got one badge." Naruto explained.

"Well, it wont be an official gym match but you could ask to battle just to see how strong you are. She's really is very powerful. But I bet she misses her boyfriend." Lily sighed. "So lucky to have such a cutey. And he's a powerful trainer to boot. I'm almost envious of her, but then I wouldn't be able to flirt with anyone else."

"Um, Ok?"

"Sorry, talking to myself, Naruto." she said sitting down VERY close to him.

Standing up quickly, Naruto announced, "Why don't we have battle?"

"Sure thing. 2 on 2. I win, you have to take me out to dinner. And if you win... well, I'll let you decide what you get if you win." Lily winked at him suggestively, and he blushed crimson.

"Bulbasaur, standby."

"Hm.. go Dewgong. Start this off with an _Aurora Beam_."

"Shit, ice? Dodge using your vines then a repeat when you fought Onix." Naruto called out.

As a multicolored beam flew towards Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur's vines lashed out and sent it into the air. From mid jump, Bulbasaur, used his vines to lash Dewgong while a flurry of razor sharp leaves crashed into Dewgong.

"_Ice Beam_."

"Bulbasaur grab a tree and then use _Power Whip _to speed up your _Double-Edge_." Naruto called out worriedly.

When Bulbasaur swung around the tree flying at Dewgong at high speeds, the attack hit. Unfortunately Bulbasaur took even more damage from an unusually powerful _Double-Edge_. His own attack knocked him out. Luckily Dewgong looked weakened enough to be beaten in one more move.

"Bulbasaur return. Pidgeotto, your up, so start off with an _Aerial Ace_."

The attack hit and Dewgong shook it off.

"Now let's try a slam attack." Dewgong dived into the water swimming at high speeds and practically flew out of the water, slamming into Pidgeotto faster then anyone could have predicted. The landing however did nothing to help Dewgong and being Naruto's current strongest, Pidgeotto wasn't going to go down to one attack.

"Quick while it's still reeling from the impact, attack with _Wing Attack._" Naruto shouted. Pidgeotto flew in fast and delivered the attack to the back of Dewgong's head. Dewgong didn't get up. It moaned but that was the extent of it.

"Wow. Your pretty good. I didn't expect you to get past my first Pokemon, but Pidgeotto is injured and I have one more. C'mon out, Horsea. I'll admit, Horsea isn't the strongest Pokemon, but this one was raised and is used by my youngest sister, so it's a cut above the rest." Lily explained. "Now, start this off with _Water Gun_."

The attack was swift and quick. Pidgeotto fell from the sky with a single attack. Pidgeotto could barely stand let alone fly after such a bad crash. The attack didn't do much but stun him long enough for him to have fallen out of the sky. The crash did most of the damage.

"Now _Bubblebeam_."

"Pidgeotto, get out of there quick. Use _Quick Attack_." Naruto shouted. With the sudden burst of speed Pidgeotto avoided most of the attack but what still hit sent him crashing into Naruto. Naruto held Pidgeotto as his feathered friend struggled to sit up "Pidgeotto, are you okay buddy? It's okay. It just means we're not ready for Misty at all yet. We will be though. I'll come back here and you'll defeat her."

Pidgeotto let out a weak sounding "Otto.", that Naruto assumed was an agreement.

"Well, that was pretty fun. Your Pidgeotto is something else. So is your Bulbasaur. You yourself have a knack for strategy. With good Pokemon and good strategy you'll go far. Now about our date... when should we meet? Tomorrow night? Or would you prefer a lunch date? We could go now if you want?"

"Ah tomorrow sounds good. I've just got to let Willow know that I wont be eating with her tomorrow. She'll be upset and tell all the things wrong with entering a bet, before making me promise not to bet ever again."

"Wait a minute! You have a girlfriend? Is that why you stood up so fast when I sat practically in your lap." She asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Well, I guess I shouldn't hold you to the date. But I'll still meet up with you AND her tomorrow if you still want to hang okay? I'll meet you both at the Pokemon center tomorrow, bye!"

"Ah... wait! Willow is going to kill me if she asks anything to do with the two of us dating. Damn... death here I come." Naruto muttered to himself as he recalled Pidgeotto and then Magikarp from the pond.

He was only waiting outside the Library for a few seconds before Willow came out.

"Have fun?" she asked.

"Yea, but I met this girl who battled me, and some stuff happened and now we're gonna be hanging with her tomorrow and when I told her about you, she assumed we were dating, and she refused to let me correct her. Please don't hurt me." Naruto babbled.

Willow stared at him for a few seconds. "I'm glad you had fun, now this is what I found out about Psychics..."

She then launched into explaining everything of importance about Psychics. Needless to say Naruto found some glaring similarities between them and him. He would definitely need to get a Psychic Pokemon soon. For now though, he couldn't help but seem a bit more interested then usual to Willow when she started going on an on about something. Even if she had changed the subject three different times by the time they got back to the Pokemon center.

**Chapter 4**

Naruto and Willow, were on the path to Saffron City. 3 days ago, when they ate lunch with Lily and her three sisters, Misty had told them that they might want to avoid Saffron, and when they had asked why, she had told them it's because the gym leader there was a very powerful Psychic, who could easily be placed as one of the three strongest in the country, while the two other best were debatable. The remaining two spots for the three strongest Gym Leaders was left to being either Misty, Blaine, Janine.

That had sealed the deal on their next destination instantly. Naruto had been wondering about his knack for increasing his own abilities for awhile now, even more so as time went on. Every time he trained alongside his Pokemon, his wonder only increased further, as he grew stronger.

Willow wasn't sure if she wanted to try it, but ultimately said if she somehow did have Psychic abilities as well, she'd stick to using just those abilities. It made sense, since she wasn't exactly physically fit, while Naruto had a swimmer's build though his torso was a bit more muscular then a swimmers.

As the two walked on in silence, Naruto thought back to Lily's teasing. She and her sisters had teased Naruto and Willow for a short while about a relationship that didn't exist. Naruto had already had the seeds planted the day before about that, and had noticed he'd stare at Willow a little to long when she said something strange. He had also noticed Willow had glance once or twice at him. He ignored it however. If they ever did try going out, and it didn't work out, it would be too awkward to keep traveling together, and he enjoyed her company.

His train of thought brought him back to something she had said when they first started traveling together, two weeks ago. She had said she would challenge the gyms along side of him. She didn't challenge Brock, and he understood why. She didn't have any Pokemon with a type advantage to him.

She also said she'd try and participate in contests though. The next one of those was to be held in Saffron several days from now, and they'd missed the contest in Cerulean by two days. The contests being held now weren't for anything important other then to allow coordinators to get a feel for what they're supposed to do. It was after all a new aspect in Kanto. Hoenn and Sinnoh had been holding them for a decade now, and Kanto had only just brought them in due to their popularity in the other two countries.

However, Kanto's trainer oriented feel, had put them mostly out of place. In fact only a couple hundred trainers had actually thought it was a great idea. Considering how large Kanto could be, unless you stayed on a set path, that wasn't very many. Looking at a trainers map of Kanto, you'd instantly think, 'what kind of country has less then 20 cities and towns?'. But that's why it was called a trainers map. A real Kanto map, showed all 64 cities, and the 27 towns. Minor villages that had less then 100 people were excluded since they were rarely important.

Naruto decided to voice his curiosity though. "Willow? Do you actually plan to challenge gyms, or did you decide against doing that back in Pewter?"

Willow paused before she answered. Naruto stopped walking and turned to face her. "When you told me how difficult the gym battles could be I decided against it. My mom will be upset, but I think if I focus on those contest things, and get a good feel for that, I could do something I enjoy."

Naruto nodded, and both of them continued walking. There was a small village to the right, at the fork up ahead., called Etruria. Naruto wasn't sure why, but he felt like he should visit there.

"Willow, I want to go there." Naruto told her as he veered down the hardly beaten dirt path.

"Um, okay." she answered, slightly confused.

After a while the duo arrived at the towns gate. There couldn't have been more then a few families living there. But they all seemed to notice when the two of them arrived.

An elderly lady walked up to them. "Hello. My name is Cleo. Is there a reason you came to our small village? We don't get many visitors."

"No idea, just felt like the place to be." Naruto explained. He noticed at the far edge of the village, there was a large lake.

"Well, that's fine. This little place, is very dedicated to training Pokemon. If you want you could battle a few of the younger trainers here. It might be beneficial to you. In fact there is another young lad here as well. I believe his name was Matt."

"Thanks we might just do that."

"Also, I advise you both to go and pray at the temple by the water. Legend says that there is an underwater cavern at the depths of the lake that holds a valuable treasure. This treasure was said to have been given to us by a legendary Pokemon, and we pray for good fortune from that legendary Pokemon." Cleo explained.

"Wow. A legendary Pokemon. That's amazing. I wish I could see one." Naruto gushed. "I'll definitely pray then."

"Naruto, you don't really believe that do you? It's just a legend. I mean sure it sounds cool and it would be great if it was, but you gotta admit, it sounds to good to be true."

"Well, regardless of whether it's true or not, we do have a place for travelers to sleep, in the largest building here. I hope you enjoy your stay." The old lady answered. She seemed a little upset that someone simply brushed off a legend like that.

As the two teens went down to the temple, they saw what they assumed was the other visitor Matt, battling a local trainer. The local trainer had been beaten rather easily. Naruto and Willow ignored going to pray and went straight to shore line where the battle had taken place.

"Hey! I want to battle you!" Naruto shouted to the victor of the match they'd just seen.

"Pfft! If your anything like the rest of these losers, don't bother." The boy taunted.

"Hmm, never know till you try, right?" Naruto shrugged.

"Fine. 3 on 3. Meowth, your up." the boy said as he let out his first Pokemon. "By the way, not that it matters, but my name is Matt. Just thought you'd like to know the name of the person who's going to utterly destroy your Pokemon."

"Naruto. And I doubt your gonna win. Bulbasaur your up!" Naruto laughed.

"Hmph. Pathetic. _Fury Swipes_." Matt announced.

"Hold it's arms with your vines. Then charge in with a _Double-Edge_." Naruto ordered.

Several vines shot out instead of two this time. Naruto knew what that meant. Bulbasaur was close to evolving. Meowth dodged three of the vines but the last two caught him in mid air. With the vines holding Meowth in place, the _Double-Edge_ hit for critical damage. Meowth screeched in pain. The follow up attack of _Razor Leaf_ ended it.

"Worthless. Growlithe, your up, and don't lose to this weakling." Matt commanded rudely. "Start with _Ember_.

"Dodge Bulbasaur. Then use Tackle."

Bulbasaur ducked and side stepped the oncoming projectile flames, and proceeded as ordered. Before he reached his target however another command was given.

"Flamethrower."

Bulbasaur had no time to dodge, and wouldn't have managed to avoid the widespread attack if he did. Bulbasaur's charred form came rolling out of the flames. He looked beat, but he refused to give in. Suddenly he started glowing green. The charred and burnt flesh started to repair itself, and the bulb started to glow as well. Underneath his skins dark green glow, was a faint whitish glow. Bulbasaur started to grow a little and the bulb on his back opened to reveal a flower that had yet to bloom.

Naruto knew what had happened. Bulbasaur had learned synthesis, and had evolved while doing the healing move. Now he was Ivysaur.

"Alright, Ivysaur. Start this off with a _Vine Whip_, and _Razor Leaf _combo." Naruto shouted.

"Hmph. _Flame Wheel_." Matt ordered with no emotion. Growlithe instantly burst into flame and started rolling towards the attacks.

The vines instantly retracted so as not to catch on fire and have to be cut off. It was a painful experience, and it took a few days for them to grow back to full length. The leaves did nothing to the rolling ball of fire. Ivysaur had tried to dodge, but was no match for Growlithe's speed. The attack was powerful. Powerful enough to knock Ivysaur out in one go.

"Ivysaur return." Naruto said. He was happy Ivysaur wouldn't have any lasting damage, but now he had to send out another Pokemon.

"Let's see your Growlithe hit something under the water with it's fire attacks. Magikarp, go." Naruto called out, sending the fish into the nearby water.

"Your joking? That worthless excuse for a Pokemon? You stupider then I thought." Matt mocked.

"We'll see who's laughing when he beats your Growlithe." Naruto challenged. From the water Magikarp agreed.

"I'll humor you. Flamethrower, boil that fish." Matt laughed.

Shocking not only Naruto and Willow, who rarely said anything during Naruto's fights, but all the villagers who had come to watch as well, Growlithe unleashed a massive Flamethrower, that had everyone throwing up a hand at the unexpected heat wave. The roar of the fire overcame all voices and would have lit up the sky had it been night time. As it was the village still turned orange from the light of the fire.

Only one voice could be heard over the fire. Naruto's. "MAGIKARP!"

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Magikarp had always been considered weak. When he was Originally captured, he was found he was being sold. When he was bought he was incredibly happy. He thought someone had truly wanted him. Once the trainer had found out he wasn't strong, he had given him away.

The person he had been given to was Naruto. At first Magikarp felt this trainer was going to give him away too, or release. Neither happened. He was let out several times in a cave, and had been asked to use bounce. He knew what the word meant, and decided to try it. Overtime, he found himself being used very often, and despite his supposed weakness, with his new trainer Naruto, he had never lost a battle. He knew that Naruto's two other Pokemon were both stronger then him. He had almost been eaten by a Pidgeotto once, and Bulbasaur was clearly the leader of Naruto's team, but he felt like he belonged.

In cerulean city, when he had beaten a powerful looking Machop, he was beyond happy. He had given his all in that battle, and Naruto had rewarded him with some free time in the pond. When he saw that Dewgong fly at his friend, Pidgeotto, he was tempted to interfere, but knew Pidgeotto would dislike it.

Just a few minutes ago, he was sent out to battle a Growlithe. He felt sure he would win. He hadn't lost yet after all. When he saw that massive wave of fire come flying over and even _under_ the water, he was sure he'd become Magikarp fillet. He could already feel his body weakening. He was dying and he knew it. His only regret was that he might have cost Naruto the match.

He heard something over the roar of the fire. Naruto's voice. He was screaming his name. He sounded so upset. It was then Magikarp realized he couldn't let Naruto down, or let him suffer over the loss of a friend. But what could he do? Then it hit him. He had seen Bulbasaur do it, and he had seen Naruto's friend Willow's Metapod do it. It was his only option. He didn't really want to do it, but it was his only way of surviving, to spare Naruto some grief.

He would have to evolve. He reached deep inside of him. And grasped energy he knew was there since just before Naruto had brought them out of that mountain. He wrapped it around himself, and felt his life force return to him. Minor pain hit his muscles for a split second before it became a soothing warmth. He let it guide him, as power ancient in nature, and as old as time itself strengthened him. His felt his form grow, and lengthen. He lost his fins as his body became little else but muscle. He grew a mouth full of sharp teeth and felt muscles in his jaw, he never thought could exist. He also felt a dormant anger lay deep in his mind. He would have to be careful it wasn't let out.

Finally the warmth left him and he flew through the flames and into the sky. He could hear Naruto much better from up here. It appeared no one had noticed him yet. That was good. He didn't know why, nor did he care, but he suddenly knew he was known as Gyarados now, and he also knew his mind was on a higher thinking level. He had already developed several plans in his mind, but only one really appealed to him. To do a full force _Tackle_ into the mutt that was releasing the flames without hesitation. It looked winded. He would do it as soon as the flames stopped.

Coincidence it happened as soon as he though it. Now was the time though. He launched himself forward and flew straight down. That mutt didn't stand a chance. Gyarados knew once he had crashed into it he had broken a large amount of bones.

Glancing at Naruto, he saw a good deal of awe, and just a hint of fear. He knew why. His knew look was intimidating and his species had a bad reputation.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Just as Naruto sank to his knees, the flames had stopped. Magikarp was nowhere to be seen. Matt said something but Naruto didn't pay attention.

He heard Willow claim something about killing him for what he did, but before she could do any such deed, a whooshing noise alerted them to the presence of something huge. Before anyone could blink the large form of a Gyarados crashed headfirst into the Growlithe.

Naruto was happy Magikarp had survived. He was in awe at the power Gyarados just displayed. He was also a little scared now that Magikarp had evolved. He was uncertain he was skilled enough to handle such a strong Pokemon. When Gyarados tried to smile though, he knew everything was fine. When he looked over to Matt to see what he'd send out next all that was left was a poke-ball, and a broken, but still living, Growlithe.

"No way. He just ran off. He didn't even bring his Pokemon? What a fucking asshole!" Naruto roared. He shouted as loud as he could. "If I ever see that fucker again, I will kill him."

After that Naruto wasted no time in grabbing Willow's hand and picking up Growlithe and it's poke-ball. "Gyarados, you have to fly us to Saffron quick. It's the closest city with a Pokemon center." Naruto's voice sounded beyond worried. "I'm not mad at you in the slightest, but Growlithe will die if we don't get him to one soon."

Gyarados roared in confirmation as the two trainers got on his back. Willow, was still seething. Her anger at the other trainer only intensified. Naruto wasn't paying much attention but he swore he saw Willow's hair change from dark red to almost black. But then it could just be the lighting.

The flight to Saffron city was incredibly short at the speed Gyarados flew. He put everything he had into flying as fast as he could to the largest city in Kanto, and finding one of it's many Pokemon centers. People screamed as the large dragon like Pokemon flew in close to the center. Naruto had jumped off with Growlithe in it's ball, and Willow not far behind, as he recalled his water Pokemon.

He raced inside, shoving multiple people out of the way. "Nurse Joy! This Pokemon is in critical condition. It's trainer abandoned it after it was put in this condition, and I nearly exhausted my Gyarados trying to get here in time to save it. Please hurry!"

As Nurse Joy let Growlithe out and placed it on a stretcher, she didn't quickly scanned it before ordering a nearby Chansey to use _Soft-boil_.

It was well known that Joy would never let a Chansey use _Soft-boil_ and weaken itself like that, unless the Pokemon the move was to be used on, was nearing death. After the move had been performed Nurse Joy had immediately gone into the back with several assistants and a few more Chansey.

Naruto sat down on the floor and sighed as he put his head between his arms, which had the elbows attached resting on a raised knee each. Willow, knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She also rested her head on the back of his shoulder. He never noticed when she guided him over to a chair in the cafeteria.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

It took 2 days before Growlithe was fit enough to leave the room. Naruto had visited him, and explained what happened after he had been stabilized. After Growlithe had heard this, he agreed to travel with Naruto. He had been raised from an egg by a human, and would never be able to live on his own in the wild. It simply wasn't possible since all he knew was what the human who raised him taught him. How to fight.

Willow had signed up the day after they arrived for the contest. It was of course for no particular prize, other then learning how the contests worked, and getting a feel for doing it. After this years Indigo competition, the Kanto region's first Grand Festival would begin.

This was third day they would be in Saffron, and they had yet to explore. They would have, but just before they left the center they had a visitor.

"Both of you. Willow Rosenberg, and Naruto Uzumaki. Come with me." A woman with purple hair had asked. She looked really weird and walked with her eyes closed. As they looked at each other before shrugging and following the girl, they realized she wasn't walking. She was floating.

"Um, what do the Psychics of Saffron want with us?" Willow questioned. Sure they had planned to meet them before they left to see what they could find out, but if they were looking for them, then the duo had something to worry about.

"Nothing. Sabrina however wishes to speak with you. I'm not sure why, but she does, and that's more then enough for any of the Psychics here to sacrifice themselves to see that it's done." The strange lady answered.

Naruto said nothing. He was finally about to learn why he got stronger like the Psychics did. Hopefully.

As the trio walked, or, in one case, floated, down the street, people gave them a wide opening to get through. It seemed everyone in town respected the Psychics. Either that or feared them, but since there was no screaming, or scrambling or even glares, Naruto and Willow both assumed it was respect. Truth was; everyone respected Sabrina, the other Psychics were however generally disliked. Mostly for their blatant use of power not many others could use, and their clear obsession with it. Sabrina however, while very fond of using her powers, preferred to instead walk, or play pranks with a Haunter she had obtained at roughly the same time she became a better person, almost 3 years ago. It annoyed some people, but they infinitely liked this Sabrina better then the one who was more then willing to kill them if they angered her.

As the Psychic opened the doors to the gym, once again showing how lazy she was by using her powers to do so, she brought them before a room. They had already passed the battling arena, so Naruto assumed they were going to a living room of sorts.

He was correct when the doors swung open, once again at the behalf of the Psychic who was guiding them. The unnamed girl bowed and then left. Naruto faced the emotionless face of the gym leader of Saffron city, and the worlds most powerful Psychic. Sabrina Natsume.

…End…

Sivvy: And that, dear readers, is everything that was written before I adopted the story. So again, props to Archsage150.


	2. Chapter 2

Sivvy: Sadly I have just now gotten around to starting my part of the story and, as such, I am deeply sorry. I am also sorry for how short this chapter really is. I had hoped to make it longer, but I felt that it was a good place to end. Then I saw the word count and if I could have I would have had those little blue depression lines above my head. I will gladly take flames for the length of the chapter. However, if you are going to flame about my style being different, I will not, for the style would have changed no matter who adopted the story. Hopefully you will like the rather short chapter.

..Begin..

"Hello, Naruto." Sabrina said, "And Willow. Please take a seat."

She indicated a couch and she seated herself in an arm chair. The two trainers sat down and looked at Sabrina with questions in their eyes.

"I am sure you both are wondering why I have summoned you here." She said, "Well, it appears that Naruto has some talent, as do you Willow."

"But I can't be a Psychic!" Willow exclaimed, "I'm just a normal girl."

"That is where you are wrong." She said, "While it is true that you are not a Psychic, you are also not normal. You are what is called an Empath. An Empath can use their own emotions to sway others and can also read others emotions. You are somewhat stronger than the normal Empath and it will serve you well with some training. As of right now, you are relying on your instincts."

Sabrina fixed Willow with a pointed stare and then turned her attention to Naruto.

"You, Naruto, only have slight Psychic powers, but there is something else as well. I've only ever seen it in Fuchsia city's Gym Leader's family. If you want to explore your ability, that's your best bet. Now please leave me." Sabrina then waved her hands to indicate they should leave.

"Thank you, Sabrina." They both said and exited the building.

The two of them went back to the pokemon center.

"I can't believe it." Willow said, "And here I thought I was normal."

"Hey, don't say that like it's a bad thing." Naruto said, trying to cheer her up, " It just means you have an edge. Something few other people are capable of. Don't think of it as if it's weird. Think of it like it makes you special."

"I suppose your right." She sighed, " I suppose our next destination is Fuchsia City."

"Of course, but we'll go around the long way. It'll give us a chance to catch more pokemon, and see Lavender town." He said.

"Alright." She said, "We'll leave the day after my contest."

Willow's contest went great for her first shot at it. She chose her Pikachu for the first round. She had it use a combination of Agility and Volt Tackle. Making it appear as if Pikachu could teleport with the lightning. She got through to the second round with a score of 24. The second round was slightly tougher, even though she was using Charmander. Willow, being used to a trainer mindset, was focusing on using the most damaging moves possible. She ended up losing in her second contest battle because her opponent, a very slippery Arbok, dodged all her attacks, which caused her to lose points at a very rapid pace. She did not let the lose get her down, however. She knew that contests is what she wanted to do and vowed to become a top Coordinator.

The day after Willow's contest, she and Naruto headed toward Lavender Town where their next big adventure awaited them.


End file.
